


Trust

by Starofwinter



Series: Sex and Candy [3]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Light Bondage, background Rex/Cody
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-06
Updated: 2016-11-06
Packaged: 2018-08-29 07:40:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8481196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starofwinter/pseuds/Starofwinter
Summary: An exercise in platonic bondage.





	

“You’re sure you want to do this?” Anomaly asks as Rex walks in.  He’s sprawled catlike in a chair, a couple of bundles of deep blue rope on the table next to him.  “If you’re not ready, we can wait till another time.”

Rex takes a breath and considers it before shaking his head.  “I want to do this.”  Cody’s been dropping hints for a while now that he’d like to be tied up, and Anomaly was the first person he though to talk everything through with.  He likes Fives, but he knows too well that Fives wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation to tease one or both of them about it.  Or _worse_ , Wolffe.  Echo gets this look on his face whenever bondage is brought up, and Rex isn’t about to make him uncomfortable, so Anomaly it is.  “Just… talk me through it.”

“Of course.  Come over here and sit down.”  Anomaly nods to the seat across from him, tucking his feet under himself for a minute.  “Alright, we’re not starting out with this, we’re going to talk first, because you’ve still got that look like you’re expecting the rope to bite you,” he says, a teasing smile on his lips, “Newbies, you’re so cute.”  

Rex rolls his eyes at the kid, but takes the chair across from him.  “I don’t think it’s gonna bite me, vod.  I just want to get this right.”

“Okay, look.  First thing I want you to do for me - _breathe_.  You’re not going to get it perfect on the first try,” Anomaly’s voice takes on a note of crisp military command it usually doesn’t have, and that makes Rex sit up at attention, “But you’re going to listen to me, and I’m going to tell you exactly what to do.  If you do that, you aren’t going to hurt me, and I’m going to make sure you know what you’re doing by the time we finish.  Trust goes both ways here.”

Rex barely keeps the _yes sir_ off his lips.  “Okay.  I can do that.”  

Anomaly blinks, and all that command is gone in a heartbeat.  “Good,” he says with a grin, “Alright, check your rope first.  Make sure you’re familiar with it and how it feels.  Like I said, it isn’t going to bite you.”  He nudges one of the bundles toward Rex, who picks it up, getting a feel for the weight and slide of the silken rope through his hands. 

“You’re sure you’re okay with this?” Rex asks, watching Anomaly for a moment.  He looks relaxed and at ease, but he wants to be sure.  “We don’t have to-”

Anomaly smiles at him and shakes his head again.  “I trust you, Rex.  And you already know I _like_ being tied up. It’s not a sex thing for me, it just feels secure,” he shrugged one shoulder in an elegant movement, “I can relax for a little while.”

Rex nods.  “I can get that.  Is this going to help you?”  There was nothing he wouldn’t do for his boys, and his chest tightens a little at Anomaly’s easy admission of trust - he doesn’t know much of the kid’s story, but he’s put together enough pieces to know what a big deal trust is for him.

“It might, but that isn’t the point of doing this.  This isn’t for me, it’s for you and Cody.  Don’t worry about me.”  Anomaly rolls to his feet and stretches.  “Did you read the guides I sent you?”

Rex nods.  “The knots were the easy part.”  Actually using them was going to be a little harder - he still wasn’t entirely sure he could bring himself to tie anyone up.  Anomaly seems eager though, and he’s already presented it in a way that makes it easier for him to think of it as _helping_.  He stands up as well, following Anomaly to the chair set up in the center of the room, holding the rope in one hand.  

Anomaly strips off his shirt without a care, though he leaves on the loose yoga pants.  “We’ll start with just the top, and see where you are after that.”  Rex forces himself not to look at the extent of the scarring across his body - it’s clear that it doesn’t particularly bother Anomaly, but kriff, he’s never seen it before.  “Go ahead, you can look.  It’s _fine_ , Rex,” he leans back, tilting his head like he’s offering himself, “Touch them, if it’ll make you feel better.”  All that usually shows when he’s at the club is just the scars over one cheek and down his neck, and they aren’t as extensive as this; they stretch across his chest and stomach, curling around his ribs and concentrating on his shoulder, where his mechno-arm attaches.  Anomaly has mentioned what happened before, his fighter shot out from under him, and being trapped in the burning cockpit until he could eject.  There are more scars over the clear and burned skin alike, ones he recognizes too well, and he knows those aren’t from the crash.  Rex reaches out, not to touch, but to rest a hand over Anomaly’s heart.  He tenses for the briefest moment before letting out a slow breath, tension Rex hadn’t even realized he was carrying dissolving at his touch.

“Are we good?” Anomaly asks, and it draws Rex back to the present.  He nods, taking a step back before he picks up the rope again.  “Alright, we’re using the color system, and I want you to check in with me every once in awhile.  I don’t think there’s going to be a problem, but you need to be in the habit when you do this independently.  Now, start off with the lark’s head knot-”  He leans back in his seat, his voice even and steady as he guides Rex through the intricate knots and patterns. 

Somewhere along the way, Rex starts to relax, the rest of the world falling away as he concentrates on making the pattern of rope against Anomaly’s skin, the dark blue an elegant contrast to the dark tan of his skin and the silver and black of his arm. It criss-crosses in diamond shapes along his back and down both arms, effectively keeping him still and tied to the chair.  “Color?” he asks, resting the hand not holding loose rope on Anomaly’s chest, checking his pulse subtly.

“Green,” he murmurs back, his breathing slow and steady, almost like Tup when he’s doing yoga, “I’m alright.”  His eyes are closed, and he looks _peaceful_ , more than Rex has ever seen him.  Anomaly has always had a way of both hiding himself and throwing himself in people’s faces, a flashy peacock who preens and shows himself off to hide… what, Rex didn’t know, and wasn’t sure he wanted to.  

He finishes the ties, binding Anomaly’s arms together from elbow to wrist behind his back, tying them to the chair as well at his instructions.  “Still good?”  He waits for a nod before he runs his fingers over the skin exposed by the open ropework, tracing along clear skin and scars alike.  “You don’t have to hide yourself away all the time, you know.”  Anomaly tilts his head, eyes still closed though his attention is on Rex.  “We’re your family, if you want us to be.”  He keeps his hand moving, never going lower than Anomaly’s chest; that isn’t the point of this, it’s not sexual, it’s just… _trust_.   “Don’t have to decide now, but think about it.  You’re safe, Anomaly.  No one here is gonna hurt you.  We’ve got your back now, it’s alright.”  The kid is going limp and lax under him, and if he didn’t know better, he’d think he was asleep.  He’s glad he could help Anomaly get to this point, calm and relaxed.  The more he thinks about it, the more he realizes that he always seems wary, like he’s waiting for everything to go to shit again.  It’s a look Rex has seen too often, and it breaks his heart to see it on Anomaly.

Anomaly leans into his hand as much as the rope will let him.  “Thank you, Rex,” he whispers, and even that has him breathing easier.  He’s putting himself fully in Rex’s hands, and the knowledge of how much _trust_ he’s putting in him takes his breath away.

“Anytime,” Rex says quietly.  It had started with Anomaly helping him, but he thinks - he _hopes -_  that maybe he got lucky enough to help Anomaly just as much.   


End file.
